Sooner Or Later
by whenxixamxqueen
Summary: There was a big party a night ago, and the next morning Ellie finds herself in a hospital, with unclear memories of the night and wrists bandaged from a failed suicide attempt. Something happened that night that caused it. Crellie.
1. Still Alive

Ellie Nash blinked a few times, dazed and confused. The night before was mostly a blur in her mind. She closed her eyes and tried her best to remember what had happened. Nothing came to mind besides a couple half drunk bottles of vodka and whisky alongside some rusty razorblades. Lifting up her right hand slowly, she touched one of her wrists. Instantly her heart beat speed up. She felt something that had never grazed her wrists before, a think gauze pad taped down tightly.

As the minutes passed, some of her memory from the night before came back to her. Her portable CD player was blaring, drowning out the sounds of the party outside the bathroom she had locked herself in. Numerous bottles of Alcohol were lined up across the bathtub, each having their fair share consumed by her. As she got more and more drunk, she looked in the medicine cabinet for a razor blade. She had found a few. They were chipped and rusty, but at the moment she had no reason to care. No reason to live.

"Ellie? Are you awake?" The girl who had been sitting in the chair beside the bed said. She stood up and placed her hand on Ellie's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was afraid."

Ellie slowly opened her eyes again. In front of her she saw a messy and tired looking Ashley Kerwin. Ashley had been her best friend for a few years now, and she was always there for her. "Yeah. I'm fine. I guess," she said as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. Her instant reaction was to look over herself, seeing what damage she had done. Everything looked normal. Except for her bandaged wrists that is.

"You.. You were in there for a while. You locked yourself in, and by the time someone got me the key you had already lost a lot of blood." Ashley looked down, ashamed of not taking better care of her friend.

Ellie bit down on her lip. She hated seeing people feel bad for her. In a way, it was like being embarrassed. "Why did I.." She paused, then motioned with her eyes to her wrists, "do this?"

A few tears began to rise in the corners of Ashley's eyes. "I don't know. You were fine when I last saw you. I went off to get a drink, and when I came back you had left the room. Maybe someone else knows, or-"

At that moment, the room to Ellie's hospital room opened. Craig Manning, Ashley's boyfriend, walked in, holding multiple drinks. "In case she wakes up soon, I figured I'd get her variety," he said, looking down at the drinks, not even noticing Ellie sitting up, eyes open. He placed the box of drinks on a table in the corner, then turned around. Instantly his eyes caught the sight of Ellie. She looked back into his eyes, and more memories of the night before began to unfold in her mind.


	2. Left Alone

Ashley smiled at Craig as she walked over and greeted him with a quick kiss on the lips. "Ellie's only been up for a few minutes, but she seems to be doing well. Right El?"

Ellie nodded and quietly mumbled, "As good as I can be." Her eyes shifted down from Ashley and Craig to her blue cotton sheets. She started to rip the already frayed ends of the blanket, waiting for someone to say something.

Ashley looked down at Ellie and noticed she seemed a bit upset. "You _are_ alright, right? I mean, I know everything's not perfect, but you're alive."

Ellie nodded, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, really. I just have a slight headache, that's all." She smiled slightly, hoping Ashley would back off and change the subject. But, her talking only did the opposite.

"A headache?" Ashley's voice had a sense of worryness in it. "You should of said something before." She let go of her grip around Craig's waist and reached for the doorknob. "I'll go down to the nurses station and get you something for it. I'll be back." She smiled at them both then walked out the room, closing the door behind her.

Ellie glanced from the closed door to Craig. Being alone with him right now was the last thing she wanted. She was afraid he'd say something about last night, or she'd accidentally say something that'd lead up to a conversation about it.

"So.." Craig said as he walked over to the chair beside Ellie's bed. Since it was the only chair in the room, it was either that or the floor. He sat down, and looked over at Ellie. He wanted to ask her why she did it, but he was afraid what the answer would be. He felt guilty even thinking about it.

Ellie looked back over to him, looking into his eyes. She had always thought he had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She had even told him that at the partythe night before..


	3. Remembering Before

"C'mon Ash. This is about the tenth time you've changed," Ellie said, looking at the layers of clothes that covered Ashley's bed. "When you're done getting dressed the party's going to be over," she added with a laugh. Picking up Ashley's CD collection, she began to flip through it while she waited.

"Well, I just found my Death Cab For Cutie T-shirt that Craig gave me," Ashley hollered from the bathroom. "He'll probably be happy to see me in it."

"Yeah," Ellie said, trying her best to sound normal when she said it. As soon as she heard Ashley say Craig a frown crossed her face. But, she was used to having to pretend. Ashley was her best friend, and liking your best friend's boyfriend was a universal friendship don't.

Ashley stepped out of the bathroom dressed in the band shirt and a faded denim skirt. It wasn't fancy or anything, but she looked different. In a good way, of course. "What do you think?" She asked Ellie, doing a spin before walking into the room and taking a seat on her bed.

"You look great Ash," Ellie said as she looked up at her. "Craig will love it." She showed a slight smile, then glanced at herself in the mirror. Nothing special. Just plain old Ellie Nash.

Ashley noticed her looking in the mirror. "You look good too.. But, if you want, I think I can make you look even better." She pulled Ellie up from her chair and rushed over to her closet. In the back there were some clothes from her 'Goth' stage. She pulled out a dusk purple corset that seemed like it would go perfect with the skirt Ellie had on. "You don't have to wear it if you don't want, but give it a try."

Ellie took the corset and went into the bathroom to put it on. She looked at herself in the full length mirror. She liked it. She more then liked it actually. She loved it. She opened the door and walked out to show Ashley.

"I love it," Ashley said with a smile as she grabbed her purse. At that moment, the doorbell rang. "I bet that's Craig," she said as she ran down the stairs to go let him in. She gave him a kiss, then led him upstairs to where Ellie was.

Ellie let out a sigh and sat down on Ashley's bed waiting for them to come up. She smiled at them once the door opened.

"Doesn't Ellie look amazing?" Ashley said to Craig as she searched through her earrings for her silver picks.

"Yeah," Craig said to Ashley. He turned and looked over to Ellie. "You really do look beautiful tonight." He smiled at her after he said it.

Ellie instantly blushed. Craig probably only said it because Ashley told him to of course, but she didn't care. Craig called her beautiful, and nothing could make her unhappy for the rest of the night.

Ashley let out a frustrated sigh, "I can't find the earrings I'm looking for. Maybe they're downstairs." She handed Craig a purple and silver star shaped necklace before she opened the door to go down stairs. "Hand that to Ellie for me."

Craig nodded and walked over to Ellie who was sitting at the vanity. He lent down and put the necklace around her neck. "Can you pick up your hair for a sec?"

Ellie went to turn around to look at him, but she realized all she had to do was look up at the mirror. "I could of done it myself," she said as she gathered her hair in her hand and held it up.

Craig smiled as he did up the clasps, "Oh, I know. But, I figured I'd be a gentlemen."

Ellie smiled back as she let go of her hair. "Thank you then." She looked back up at the mirror, and noticed his eyes. They caught the reflection of the light perfectly and the shade was warming. She turned around so she was facing him. "You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."


	4. Awkward Conversations

"So.." Ellie repeated back to Craig. Silently, she prayed for Ashley to come back. _C'mon Ash. Please come back soon. I can't take another minute of this. _She looked over to the door and waited for the knob to turn.

Craig shook his head in agreement, "Yeah." He looked down at the tiled hospital room floor, and contemplated whether or not he should bring last night up. He thought about it for a few minutes, occasionally catching a glimpse of Ellie from the corner of his eye. Figuring they'd have to talk about it sooner or later, he decided to bring it up. "So, about last night.."

Ellie felt like her heartbeat had just stopped. She didn't want to talk about last night. She never wanted to talk about it. Ever. She looked at him for a moment, helplessness showing in her eyes. "Oh, yeah. That." She said slowly, looking down again, ripping at the threads on her blanket.

"I know you were really upset and.." Craig said, still thinking of how to word what he wanted to say. "And I guess I was the last person you talked to before you did," he gestured towards her bandaged wrists, "that."

"Yeah, I guess you were," Ellie responded, subtly clasping her hands together. She ran the finger nail of one of her thumbs against the palm of her other hand. Since she had long fingernails, with enough pressure they started to cut through the delicate skin on her hand. Within seconds she could feel the blood against her skin. Letting out a discreet sigh of relief, she slowly looked over to Craig.

"Well, was this my fault then?" Craig asked, fearing that the answer would be a yes. After what had happened the night before, it all led to being his fault.

Ellie bit down on her lip for a moment. She couldn't decide whether or not to lie or say the truth. But, it didn't matter much anyways. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, the doorknob turned and Ashley walked in with two aspirins and a cup of water.


	5. It was only a kiss

"Thanks Ellie," Craig said with a appreciative smile as he stood up. He crossed his arms again his chest and lent up against the wall. "She takes forever to get ready," Craig said with a small laugh referring to Ashley.

Ellie nodded and rolled her eyes somewhat jokingly. "Tell me about it." She picked up the hair brush that was laying on the vanity and ran the brush through her hair one last time.

Ashley appeared a minute later with no earring in her hand or ears. "I couldn't find them," she said with a disappointed shake of her head. She rummaged through her earring box once more, settling for a pair of blue studs.

"So, are you completely ready now?" Ellie asked Ashley, putting the brush down and standing up.

Craig added with a laugh as he put his arms around Ashley's waist and kissed the top of her head, "We were discussing a few minutes ago how you take forever to get ready."

Ashley laughed jokingly pushed him to the side, "I do not. But yes, I am ready now."

The three of them went outside to Craig's car and headed over to the party. It was a pretty short drive, so they were there within five minutes. They all got out of the car and walked into the house. Instantly they were greeted with loud music and sights of loads of alcohol and drugs.

"This will be fun," Ashley said with a smile as she headed over to where the alcohol was. She had a shot of this, and a shot of that, followed by a beer. Grabbing two additional beers, she brought them over to Craig and Ellie who had been talking with Marco, and handed them each one.

"My Chemical Romance does not suck," Ellie protested to Craig who had said they sucked a moment before.

"The lyrics aren't original and the chords are repeated too much," Craig said in response with a shake of his head. Taking the beer from Ashley, he opened it and took a sip. "Thanks Ash," he said to her.

Ashley smiled and pulled him into a passionate kiss. "Let's go dance," she said to him with a grin as she led him over closer to the sound system. The dancing didn't last very long, because soon they were sitting on a chair making out.

Ellie bit down on her lip as she watched them walk away and start kissing. She was used seeing them do that. It usually wasn't too big a deal to hide her feelings. But, this time it was. It wasn't her talking with Ashley and being interrupted by Craig. Ellie had been having a good conversation with Craig and Ashley took him away from her. "And I said nothing would make this night go wrong," she said softly to herself, trying not to look upset. She was so upset that she forgot Marco was standing right behind her.

"El, are you alright?" Marco asked in a concerned voice. He placed his hand on Ellie's shoulder. "You can tell me whatever's wrong."

Ellie quickly wiped away the few tears that had snuck out of the corners of her eyes. She turned around and put on her best face. "Yeah, I'm fine. A piece of dust fell into my eye." She wish she could of told Marco. Someone. Anyone. Craig. But, she couldn't. "I'm going to go get another drink," Ellie said as she quickly walked away and found an empty room to sit in.

When the song ended, Craig and Ashley stood up, and went over to where they had been standing before. But, all they saw was Marco standing alone.

"Where's El?" Ashley asked Marco, taking another sip of her drink. "She was here a minute ago."

Marco sort of frowned, "I don't know why, but she seemed pretty upset. She said she was fine, but, I don't really believe her." He shook his head. "She told me she went to grab a drink."

"Alright, thanks," Ashley said. She gave Craig's hand a quick squeeze before letting go of it. "I'll be back, okay. I think she needs to have a girl talk." With that, Ashley went to check all the spots where drinks were to find Ellie.

Marco turned to Craig, "I think I'm going to see if there's anyone who's my type around. I'm guessing you don't want to come."

Craig laughed, "Yeah, I think I'll pass on guy hunting. But, I'll talk to you again before I leave."

"Okay, catch you later," Marco said as he headed off in the direction of some hot blonde guys.

Looking around, Craig noticed no one he knew that well was in sight. "Ashley can come and find me," he said to himself as he started to walk away in search of Spinner or Jimmy. As he started down the hall way, he noticed a door half way open. The light wasn't on and the room was quiet. Assuming it was empty, he went in to call Spinner on his cell phone.

Ellie, who had been sitting against the wall in the room jumped when Craig walked in. Since it was dark, she couldn't even tell it was Craig.

"I'm sorry, I thought the room was empty," Craig said looking down at the girl sitting against the wall. Turning around, he went to leave.

"Craig?" Ellie said, making sure it was him. She was Ninety-Nine percent sure he was. His voice had always made her melt, and she got a warm feeling inside when she heard him speak.

Craig stepped back into the room and walked over to Ellie. He took a seat down beside her, resting his hands on his knees. "Ashley's looking for you. Marco said you weren't doing too good." He looked at her face. Even though the room was dark, up close he could see the tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm fine," Ellie said looking down. She wiped her eyes with one hand then looked back over to him. "Really, I am." It was getting harder and harder for her not to cry. She couldn't tell him the truth. She just couldn't. She looked down, hoping not seeing his face wouldn't make it better.

Craig placed his hand under Ellie chin and tilted her head so she was facing him, "You're not fine. You're practically crying. Tell me what's wrong."

Ellie shook her head, "I just can't. It's pointless tell you anyways. To tell anyone actually."

"It can't be that bad. And if it, I'll help you. Just tell me," Craig said, trying to be helpful. Honestly, he added, "You can trust me."

And with that, Ellie did what she had been longing to do. She lent in and kissed him. She knew it was wrong in her mind, but she loved every moment of it. She wouldn't regret it.


End file.
